關于《牛津英語辭典》(Oxford English Dictionary)的編輯故事，有文為證：　　

One of the greatest contributions to the first Oxford English Dictionary was also one of its most unusual. In 1879, Oxford University in England asked Prof. James Murray to serve as editor for what was to be the most ambitious dictionary in the history of the English language. It would include every English word possible and would give not only the definition but also the history of the word and quotations (引文) showing how it was used.　　　　

This was a huge task. So Murrary had to find volunteers from Britain, the United States, and the British colonies to search every newspaper, magazine, and book ever written in English. Hundreds of volunteers responded, including William Chester Minor. Dr. Minor was an American Surgeon who had served in the Civil War and was now living in England. He gave his address as “Broadmoor, Crowthorne, Berkshire,” 50 miles from Oxford.　　　　

Minor joined the army of volunteers sending words and quotations to Murray. Over the next years, he became one of the staff’s most valued contributors. 　　

But he was also a mystery. In spite of many invitations, he would always decline to visit 　　Oxford. So in 1897, Murray finally decided to travel to Crowthorne himself. When he arrived, he found Minor locked in a book-lined cell at the Broadmoor Asylum for the Criminally insane. 　　

Murray and Minor became friends, sharing their love of words. Minor continued contributing to the dictionary, sending in more than 10,000 submissions in 20 years. Murray continued to visit Minor regularly, sometimes taking walks with him around the asylum grounds.　　

In 1910, Minor left Broadmoor for an asylum in his native America. Murray was at the port to wave goodbye to his remarkable friend.　　

Minor died in 1920, seven years before the first edition of the Oxford English Dictionary was completed. The 12 volumes defined 414,825 words, and thousands of them were contributions from a very scholarly and devoted asylum patient. 　　

下面，我們有必要重溫一下“過去完成時”的用法：　　

過去完成時表示“過去的過去”，有兩重意思：①表示在過去某一時間或某一動作之前已經發生的動作；②表示由過去某一時間開始，延續到過去另一時間的動作。可圖示為：　　

(1) 表示過去某一時間之前已經完成的動作　　

表示在過去某一時刻或動作之前已完成的動作，即“過去的過去”。這個過去的時刻常用by, before等介詞短語或時間狀語從句來表示，也可以從一個表示過去的動作或上下文中得到提示。　　

She had learned English before she came to Britain. 她在來英國以前已學過英文了。　　

By the end of last month, we had finished half of the project. 到上個月底為止，我們已經完成了一半的工程。　　

She said she had lost her purse on her way to the station. 她說她在去火車站的路上丟了錢包。　　

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